Worker’s Retaliation Claims Dismissed Where Employer Implemented And Uniformly Applied Injury-Reporting Disciplinary Policy
Posted on Sep 27, 2014
A waste-removal driver claimed he injured his back while loading two tree stumps into a truck in 2012. He did not, however, inform his employer of the claim until seven months later after his employer learned of a filed workers’ compensation claim. At that time, the employer asked the worker to complete an incident report. The company handbook provided that employees must report all work-related injuries or be subject to discipline up to and including termination. The worker twice refused to complete an incident report despite the company’s requests because he had not been able to review...
Continue Reading
Personal Jurisdiction In USA Exists Over Offshore Company For Injury Off Russian Coast
Posted on Sep 26, 2014
Following injuries sustained while working on a vessel off the coast of Russia, a U.S. worker brought suit against multiple entities involved in the operation claiming, among other things, that they provided faulty and unsafe equipment and that they failed to provide a safe workplace. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied the parent company of the worker’s employer’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction because the claims arose under federal law, the company had not conceded to the jurisdiction of the courts of any other state, the company...
Continue Reading
California Unfair Competition Law Cannot Create Additional Liability For Workplace Safety Issues
Posted on Sep 25, 2014
Following a catastrophic workplace incident at a plastics manufacturing plant that resulted in the death of two workers, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued a number of citations to the plant owner for alleged safety violations. The local district attorney, however, in addition to filing criminal charges against the plant’s manager and maintenance supervisor, also charged the plant with per day civil penalties under the California Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) that would amount to approximately $2 million. Earlier this year, a California appellate court ruled...
Continue Reading
Worker’s LHWCA Claims For Pain And Suffering Not Subject To Maryland’s Noneconomic Loss Cap
Posted on Sep 25, 2014
Working on a vessel in Baltimore harbor, a longshoreman was attempting to maneuver a forklift around an open hatch but after issues with the machinery’s brakes, the forklift skidded on the deck, fell through the hatch, and severely injured a worker below. The injured worker filed suit alleging that the companies involved in the operation—the vessel owner and the commercial manager responsible for negotiating employment and cargoes and coordinating the vessel’s voyages—negligently permitted workers to operate forklifts at high rates of speed around open and unprotected hatches, failed to...
Continue Reading
Nebraska High Court Orders Trial Against General Contractor Over Death Of Subcontractor’s Employee
Posted on Sep 25, 2014
To help build a new store for a nationwide retailer in Omaha, the site’s general contractor hired a subcontractor to install steelwork to support the building’s roof. One of the subcontractor’s employees, while not wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE), fell 25 feet after a decking sheet gave way and was killed. The decking sheet originally had been secured by two temporary screws but the screws had been removed before the incident. The worker’s estate brought a negligence suit against the general contractor and the site owner (the retailer). The trial court granted...
Continue Reading
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Judgment For Car Manufacturer In Case Involving Fuel Shut-Off Switch
Posted on Sep 24, 2014
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s exclusion of expert witness testimony and a grant of summary judgment for a defendant car manufacturer in a wrongful death action brought by the plaintiff’s estate. The estate alleged that the car manufacturer’s failure to equip the vehicle with a fuel shut-off switch led to the plaintiff’s fatal brain injury after her car collided with a Mack truck and “pinballed” into two parked cars and other obstacles. The appellate court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the plaintiff’s expert testimony given...
Continue Reading
County Workers Repaired Injury-Causing Tool Immediately After Incident But Not Enough For Summary Judgment For Spoliation
Posted on Sep 24, 2014
In 2011, a utility worker working for the local county Public Works Department was injured when falling while climbing onto a “drum roller” asphalt compactor after a handle on the drum roller broke. That same day, after workers took photographs of the broken handle, another county worker re-welded the handle onto the drum roller, thereby destroying relevant evidence regarding how the handle broke and whether the defective handle may have failed due to a design defect or misuse. After the worker received workers’ compensation, the county’s insurance carrier brought a third-party claim...
Continue Reading
FEATURED
The Crisis Response & Incident Investigation Team at Eversheds Sutherland has substantial experience in guiding companies through crises, big and small, in providing a coordinated response to help mitigate risk and liability. More>>